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Side-by-side comparison · AI Assistants & LLMs

Duck.ai vs Perplexity vs Venice

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Duck.ai

4.0

From $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr

Best overall

Perplexity

4.2

From $17/mo

Venice

3.4

From $18/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best value

Pick it if: Anyone who wants quick AI help without an account or a record of what they asked.

Best overall

Pick it if: Anyone who researches as part of their job and is sick of having ten tabs open.

Pick it if: People who want a capable AI that doesn't keep their chats or refuse sensitive and creative requests.

Perplexity scores highest overall, but Duck.ai gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

AttributeDuck.aiPerplexityVenice
In one lineDuckDuckGo's private AI chat: no account, no stored prompts, free to use.Ask a question and get a short answer from the web, with links to every source.A private, uncensored AI app for chat, images and video, with chats kept on your device.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr$17/mo$18/mo
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code No Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeDuck.aiPerplexityVenice
Overall rating4.04.2Winner3.4
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
4.5
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
3.0
3.5
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.5
4.5
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
4.0
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.5
4.5
3.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeDuck.aiPerplexityVenice
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes Yes
Desktop app Yes Yes No
Browser extension Yes Yes No
API access No Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace No Yes No
Enterprise plan or SSO No Yes No
Connects to other apps No Yes No
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes Yes
Understands images Yes Yes Yes
Makes images Yes Yes Yes
Makes video No Yes Yes
Writes code Yes Yes Yes
Runs agents or automations No Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style No No Yes
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score9/ 1715/ 1711/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeDuck.aiPerplexityVenice
Plans

FreeOur pick

Free

Quick private questions with no sign-up.

Free

Free

Everyday questions and quick fact-checks.

Free

Free

Trying the privacy and tone before paying.

Plus

$9.99/mo or $99.99/yr

Regular users who also want a VPN.

ProOur pick

$17/mo billed yearly

Anyone who researches as part of their job.

ProOur pick

$18/mo, or about $15/mo billed yearly

Daily private chat and image making.

Pro

$19.99/mo or $199.99/yr

People who want the top models privately.

Max

$167/mo billed yearly

Power users running the Computer agent all day.

Pro Plus

$68/mo

Regular video makers and API users.

Enterprise Pro

$34/seat/mo billed yearly

Teams that need admin controls and data protection.

Max

$200/mo

Heavy video generation and frontier model use.

Enterprise Max

$271/seat/mo billed yearly

Research teams working with large datasets and files.

Which plan to pickStay on Free unless you also want a VPN. Plus is good value if you'd pay for a VPN anyway. Pro is $19.99, the same as ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro, so only pick it if anonymity matters more to you than features.Start free and see how often you hit the Pro search limit. If you research most days, Pro pays for itself in saved tabs. Its 4,000 bonus Computer credits are a one-off and run out after about 30 days, so don't count them as a monthly allowance. Max only makes sense if you're using the Computer agent heavily enough to burn through the credits.Use Free for a day to see if it suits you. Pro is the sensible plan for private chat and images. Only go higher if you make a lot of video, and check that auto top-up is switched off in billing before you do.

Key features

AttributeDuck.aiPerplexityVenice
Standout features
  • No account needed
  • Anonymised prompts
  • Choice of models
  • Voice chat and images
  • Local chat history
  • Built into the browser
  • Cited answers
  • Deep research
  • Comet browser
  • Computer
  • Spaces
  • Choice of models
  • Chats stay on your device
  • Privacy modes
  • Fewer refusals
  • Images and video
  • Studio editor
  • Agentic chat and API

Pros and cons

AttributeDuck.aiPerplexityVenice
Pros
  • No account, and prompts are anonymised and not used for training
  • Free access to models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Mistral in one place
  • Fast, clean and easy for anyone to use
  • Paid plans bundle a VPN and identity protection
  • Sources on every answer make it the easiest assistant to fact-check
  • Short, direct answers instead of padded essays
  • Free plan is useful on its own and Comet is free
  • Lets you pick from the best models from several companies
  • Fast, and the mobile app is good
  • Chat history stays in your browser, not on Venice's servers
  • Answers creative and sensitive questions other assistants refuse
  • Text, images, video and a video editor in one app
  • Wide choice of open and frontier models, plus an API
Cons
  • Free models are the small versions, so answers trail paid ChatGPT or Claude
  • No projects, connectors or spreadsheet uploads, and PDFs are capped at 15 to 50 pages
  • Usage limits aren't published as numbers
  • Privacy rests on DuckDuckGo's contracts with the AI companies, and some users report chat sync errors between devices
  • Weak for long writing, planning or creative work
  • Computer credits are confusing: Pro's bonus credits expire after about 30 days, and Comet's browser actions and Automations spend them
  • Sources are sometimes low quality, so you still need to read them
  • Max is expensive for what most businesses need
  • Privacy protections differ by mode and model, which is easy to misunderstand
  • Credits run out fast on video, and failed generations can still cost credits
  • Reports of surprise auto top-up charges and slow support on billing problems (Trustpilot 1.9 from 63 reviews)
  • Video models now block some content with face-detection errors, despite the uncensored pitch
  • Clearing your browser loses your chats, and generations are wiped when a plan lapses

Who each one is for

AttributeDuck.aiPerplexityVenice
Best for
  • Quick private questions
  • Using AI without signing up
  • A shared or work computer
  • Voice chat and simple image making
  • Fact-checking and quick research
  • Competitor and market research
  • Comparing products before you buy
  • Getting up to speed on a new topic
  • Private conversations you don't want stored
  • Fiction and creative work other assistants refuse
  • Trying open models without setting anything up
  • Image and video experiments in one app
You'll find it used by
  • Privacy-minded professionals
  • DuckDuckGo users
  • Casual AI users
  • Students
  • Researchers
  • Marketers
  • Consultants
  • Founders
  • Privacy-minded professionals
  • Fiction writers
  • Crypto and Web3 users
  • AI hobbyists

Questions people ask

Which is better, Duck.ai, Perplexity or Venice?

Perplexity scores highest overall in our ratings (Duck.ai 4.0/5, Perplexity 4.2/5 and Venice 3.4/5). Duck.ai is best for quick private questions and Using AI without signing up. Perplexity is best for fact-checking and quick research and competitor and market research. Venice is best for private conversations you don't want stored and fiction and creative work other assistants refuse.

Which is cheaper, Duck.ai, Perplexity or Venice?

Duck.ai: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr. Perplexity: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $17/mo. Venice: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $18/mo.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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